~ the life and times of this interior designer

Monthly Archives: August 2011

Most of my friends know that I love to tell story tales, craft wonderful renditions, tell dumb jokes, and basically entertain through the narrative. My proclivity in telling too many jokes at once is well-known to my closest friends. I can’t help it! I sometimes don’t remember whom I have shared the joke du jour with, and unfortunately, I do hear ‘You have told me this one already..” And with no hint of apology, I shall do it again here. Please enjoy the periodic humor that I share on this blog. If you have heard it before – Please enjoy it again!

You think this sort of thing would’nt happen at Nordstroms –

Lisa is like my best friend, hell she is my best friend.. I was talking with her on the phone, while trying to shop. We started and ended 4 phone calls while I walk the aisles. The phone calls were dropping and breaking up, and well you know. She had me all discombobulated trying to figure out when we were getting together,, and she calls me for the 5th time, right at the moment I’m trying to pick the right tie with the shirt I’ve chosen, and I suddenly have to go to the bathroom.. (I think I may have IBS,, I dunno,, lately when I gotta go, I gotta go.) I just leave my items on the counter, taking only my phone until I find the restroom, and grab the nearest stall.

No sooner had I just sat down, a voice from the next cubicle said “Hi !, how are you ?” I thought Jesus,,,are you kidding me??? Embarrassed, I said, “I’m doing fine”. The voice said “So what are you up to ?”

I said, “Just doing the same as you,,, sitting here!”. From next door, “Can I come over?” Annoyed, I… said ” uhhh DUH!!,,,, rather busy right now”.

The voice said, “Listen, I will have to call you back, there’s an idiot next door answering all my questions”.

I work in a funny and weird profession. Like many of them really. We have our “do’s and don’t” and things that are typically done, and things normally not done. Back in the day (as they say) there seemed to be a lot more emphasis on the way that “things are done.” Time has its way of working on things, that’s for sure. Given the intensity of starting a project, or working through it, and certainly at the installation, the fine points can be lost if you are not very careful. Just a trim can take a life of it’s own sometimes, and you think “gosh, It’s just some lip cord..” But, It’s the cord that along with 14 other fabrics, trims, buttons and tassels, were all to be used in the creation of a sofa, that now will not even start production because of this one very small thing. Well, the small things can matter greatly in this business, you will see. But I have digressed from the main point of the title above. Sorry.

It has been suggested to me on several occasions, to never show a “before” and an “after” image on my website. I recall the thinking that – you only want to show your best work, and not stray away from the message of what you can provide. Other times, It has been shared with me to indeed go ahead and show this paradigm of just what can be accomplished. I think, the late 1990’s was a different time than today, (heck 2 years ago was a different time than today!) and yet I still pursue questions about what is the right thing to do about this idea. Designers face so many challenges, that the real intricacies of this work escapes many. It’s not just the details, headaches, personalities, mistakes, the dollars, the personalities, the orders, the complexity, (did I mention personalities?). Many of my friends upon learning the real level of work, energy and time to perform my job, gasp at me and with real acclaim on their faces say “Why on earth would you want to do THAT for a living?”. I don’t know the answer. But I know one thing – Any designer I know who is good at what they do, cares so deeply about this profession and gets such joy from it – we all say there isn’t anything else we would rather do. Now I have digressed again.. darn it.

So, when I am mulling over a decision like the title question here, I am famous for seeking out other’s advice and thoughts on such matters. I do this because I am insecure about my own decisions sometimes, for sure, but mostly because I just learn so much from hearing other’s views and experiences. For the senior and far more experienced designers that come before me, I value my colleagues advice very much. Ever aware what a valuable commodity their knowledge and experience is, the pearls of wisdom I receive, get mulled over quite a bit. One of my closest advisors will say to me “Brad, I will tell you what you should do, but I know you will not do it, but at least I will tell you anyway”, and sure enough, I will fail to heed the sage wisdom and end up hearing “I told you so….”

Enter our world of Facebook, Twitter, and now my blog, which, as a blog should be, has more fluid and relaxed content that a website was never meant to be. Yes, I have found my decision. After some years of thought, and great advice, that like this post, the information is never all in one package, and all nicely bundled together. The information and lessons we glean from others can be just as circuitous as this post was. Sometimes the messages are not what they appear, but we assimilate what we need to solve sometimes simple, and sometimes complex, questions. So, this blog is the place that will show before and after images. Why not? Come to think of it, probably on my website also! What the heck, I never do what they tell me to do!

Now, the question is to you, dear reader; As I show the Before and After images of ongoing projects, would you prefer to see narrative about the changes and improvements to the space? Or do you prefer “Just the Pic’s Please…” ? Let me know.

Sometimes, I just gotta brag. My friends, relatives, clients and anyone else for that matter, knows of my self-confidence sometimes soaring out of control, but when push comes to shove, I really am a lot more humble than all that. Except of course, for a few things that are simply beyond reproach. (For those who have tried my cheesecake for example, will attest/swear and otherwise applaud). Forgive my boldness in advance!

As it usually goes with me, I can get a craving for something I want to taste. Currently, I am searching for the most authentic Moroccan Couscous, made in a couscousier of course, with the spices of the north African and Middle Eastern cultures melding into an intoxicating aroma , no..make that perfume, of a stew that steams the couscous… Well I digress, that will be a future blog. So, after having my 153rd try at enjoying Chinese restaurant almond cookies, and being so disappointed, I realised, did you ever have a memory of something that was better than the real something? We all have, of course. So I wanted to make the very best version of this cookie, keeping it authentic of course, but how would the Imperial Court of China (back in the day) have served them to the Emperor?

Normally, I search and collect, read and figure out, try, and try again in developing something that I will be able to call “my own” and know it will become a signature dish of mine. This is half the fun of it all. This time, that did not happen.

Recently I stumbled upon recipes and stories by Garrett McCord on his “Vanilla Garlic” blog. His things are often included on the “simply recipes” site I enjoy. Garrett’s cooking knowledge/techniques are so well founded, yet he takes away any of the intimidation of “the rules”, and just gives us the recipe. Mixed with his innately flowing narrative style of stories, his great recipes are sometimes just adjunct, like dangling participles after a good thread. Great all on their own.

So, in looking for really good Chinese style Almond Cookies, Garrett’s version proved to be the ultimate, and needed no further experiments, trials and surely no input from Brad,, alas, I cannot refer to these as my own, no matter how obliquely. I don’t care about it this time, these are that good. And despite my 98% following Garrett’s recipe, this will, I am sure, become yet another thing I definitely brag about for sure. For sure.

Chinese Almond Cookies (with a couple of small alterations from me…)

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups of almond flour, lightly packed (If you don’t have this, wait until you do. This is what Makes These So Good, and not overly sweet!)

Halved almonds ( I use cracked in half, very irregular shaped pc. and toast them gently.)

½ to ¾ cup of “Sugar in the Raw®”

Method

1 Place the almond flour, salt, and butter into an electric beater with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for three minutes. The mixture will become course and chunky looking. (Mine tends to combine and go right past the crumbly stage.. stop the mixer as soon as this happens and continue)

2 Add one of the eggs, reserving the other for later, and the almond extract. Mix on low speed until just incorporated.

3 Sift together the flour, sugar, and baking soda then add to the butter mixture at low speed. Mix until just combined.

4 Take the dough and flatten it into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator for two hours to chill.

5 Preheat the oven to 325F. baking sheet (I seem to do OK with ungreased plain sheet) or line with parchment. Place the other egg into a bowl and beat it. (if you have never used parchment paper, try it. you will never go back!)

6 Take pieces of dough and roll them into balls about a half-inch wide. Place them on the sheet about and inch apart and then press them down slightly with a soup spoon to make a concave coin shape. (this is a lot more forgiving, so experiment a little here…)

7 Place a slivered/halved etc. almond onto each cookie and lightly press it into place, then paint the surface of the cookie with some of the beaten egg using a pastry brush or your finger (this will give the cookie a lacquered appearance once it bakes). Sprinkle “Sugar in the Raw®” granules on top.

8 Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the edges just being to tan. Cool on the sheet on a wire rack.

Makes 3 dozen medium (3 ½” diam.) sized, or 5 dozen small (2 ¼” diam.)I make 2 or more batches at once is just as easy, and roll them into logs and freeze. Great as gifts, and very handy. You can trust me on this; Make two batches, make them all, and you will see how fast these go!

When holding my wonderful dog, Schofield, close to me, I can feel him dreaming his big dreams, gently moving and running thru the air as his dreams play on and on. He is such a wonderful companion, a wonderful dog so eager to please. His golden hair is so soft, and when he is not all wet, or has gone curly, his coat is always a wonderful, soft, perfumey place to bury my face into, and just give him kisses. Often, I would sit watching him survey his land, and the wind blowing his fall of hair over his eyes, blow away to the sides, and thus was nicknamed “boy with wind in his hair” after my niece, Danielle’s same nickname. He is a soft coated Wheaten Terrier and they are known for their beautiful soft hair, that does not shed.

You can imagine that the pending move to Baltimore was encountered with some trepidation. The city has such a horrible reputation of shootings, guns, crime and so forth (and I am from D.C. mind you!) that we thought it best to develop a tactic to protect us on our new streets called home. BF decided that the best way to handle this was to teach our boy to “play dead”. Now, upon hearing the word “BANG”… he will roll over, and have all four legs in the air, whereupon I will have to go and rub his chest to “bring him back to life”.

I know that alot of dogs can, and many dogs do perform this, but when it’s your own, well.. he is just special what can I say. By the way, Baltimore has proven to be a wonderful place to live and we have never had to use our emergency moves and “go bang”!

This is my company’s motto. I wholeheartedly believe that beautiful things in your life, surroundings and relationships not only add value, but in fact bring more beautiful things into your life. Everyone knows that a smile begets a smile. I stand by the theory that beautiful surroundings in your physical space will truly bring more beauty into your life.

Colors, rooms with feeling, lighting that actually does something, softness, shine, all the textures and senses that a space can fulfil for us, is an amazingly powerful influence on how we live our lives.

Try to imagine…

Relaxing curves, hand painted scenery and all the pillows offers a setting to allow us to relax, become more open and to ultimately look for more beauty in our lives – through our children, perhaps reading, talking with a friend, considering entertaining or relaxing with a nice glass of wine and savour the day’s events.